William Lumsden

{{Infobox cricketer

| name =

| image =

| country = Scotland

| fullname = William Forbes Lumsden

| nickname =

| birth_date = 4 September 1879

| birth_place = Peterculter, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1956|10|28|1879|9|4|df=yes}}

| death_place = Nairobi, Kenya Colony

| heightft =

| heightinch =

| batting = Unknown

| bowling = Unknown

| role =

| family = Oswald Lumsden (brother)

| club1 = Europeans

| year1 = 1902/03

| columns = 1

| column1 = First-class

| matches1 = 2

| runs1 = 18

| bat avg1 = 9.00

| 100s/50s1 = –/–

| top score1 = 10*

| deliveries1 = 12

| wickets1 = 0

| bowl avg1 = –

| fivefor1 = –

| tenfor1 = –

| best bowling1 = –

| catches/stumpings1 = 2/–

| date = 4 December

| year = 2022

| source = https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/william-lumsden-30792 Cricinfo

}}

William Forbes Lumsden, {{postnominal|DSO|size=100}} (4 September 1879 – 28 October 1956) was a British Army officer and Scottish first-class cricketer.

Biography

The son of the advocate James Forbes Lumsden, he was born in September 1879 at Peterculter, Aberdeenshire. Lumsden was educated firstly at Aberdeen Grammar School, before attending Repton School in England,{{cite book|title=Repton School Register, 1557–1910|year=1910|publisher=A. J. Lawrence|location=Repton|page=368|url=https://archive.org/details/b28994218|language=en}} from which he matriculated to Trinity College, Cambridge. While studying at Cambridge, he gained a blue in golf.{{cite book|last=Venn|first=John|title=Alumni Cantabrigienses|year=1944|volume=4|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=235|url=https://archive.org/details/p2alumnicantabri04univuoft|language=en}}

After graduating from Cambridge, Lumsden was commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery as a second lieutenant in March 1900,{{London Gazette|issue=27177|date=27 March 1900|page=2040}} with promotion to lieutenant following in 1901. Serving in British India, he made two appearances there in first-class cricket for the Europeans cricket team against the Parsees in the 1902–03 Bombay Presidency Matches,{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/13/13977/First-Class_Matches.html|title=First-Class Matches played by William Lumsden|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=4 December 2022|url-access=subscription}} scoring 18 runs.{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/13/13977/f_Batting_by_Team.html|title=First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by William Lumsden|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=4 December 2022|url-access=subscription}}

He progressed in the military to become an adjutant in the Territorial Force from September 1908 to October 1909,{{London Gazette|issue=28173|date=1 September 1908|page=6374}}{{London Gazette|issue=28307|date=12 November 1909|page=8352}} later being promoted to captain in November 1911.{{London Gazette|issue=28575|date=26 January 1912|page=642}} Lumsden was seconded for service with the Colonial Office in December 1912,{{London Gazette|issue=28672|date=17 December 1912|page=9577}} where he was tasked with survey duty in Nigeria.

At the beginning of the First World War in the summer of 1914, he was restored to the Royal Garrison Artillery,{{London Gazette|issue=28893|date=4 September 1914|page=7084}} with promotion to major following in December 1915.{{London Gazette|issue=28392|date=3 December 1915|page=12171}} He was made an acting lieutenant colonel in June 1916,{{London Gazette|issue=29686|date=25 July 1916|page=7460|supp=y}} reverting to major in October of the same year.{{London Gazette|issue=29807|date=27 October 1916|page=10516|supp=y}} Lumsden was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order in the 1917 New Year Honours and served in the Mesopotamian campaign in the latter stages of the war.{{London Gazette|issue=29886|date=29 December 1916|page=24|supp=y}}{{cite book|title=The Letters of Major General Price Davies VC, CB, CMG, DSO|first=Peter|last=Robinson|year=2013|publisher=History Press|location=Cheltenham|page=112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZY7AwAAQBAJ|language=en|isbn=9780752492230}}

Following the war, he was again made a temporary lieutenant colonel in January 1919,{{London Gazette|issue=31260|date=28 March 1919|page=4166|supp=y}} before relinquishing the rank a year later.{{London Gazette|issue=31771|date=6 February 1920|page=1646|supp=y}} He retired from active service in March 1921, at which point he was granted the rank of lieutenant colonel.{{London Gazette|issue=32272|date=29 March 1921|page=2526|supp=y}}

Returning to Scotland, Lumsden was the Unionist Party candidate for Aberdeen North in the 1923 general election,Officer is Unionist candidate for Aberdeen North. Dundee Courier. 23 November 1923. p. 3 but was defeated by Labour's Frank Rose. Lumsden later died at Nairobi in Kenya Colony in October 1956.{{cite book|title=East Africa and Rhodesia|year=1956|publisher=Africana|page=325|volume=33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oa0qAAAAMAAJ|language=en}}

His brother, Alfred Forbes Lumsden, was a brigadier-general in the British Army, while his elder brother, Oswald Lumsden, was also a first-class cricketer. His nephew was the actor Geoffrey Lumsden.